Schwartz is notable for her work in the 1970s and early 1980s that culminated in the book American Couples: Money-Work-Sex, which was co-written with Philip Blumstein and surveyed
lesbian couples,
gay male couples and
heterosexual couples.
Schwartz also serves as the Love & Relationship Expert & Ambassador[2] for
AARP and writes the column The Naked Truth.[3]
Schwartz wrote the column "Sex and Health" for Glamour magazine for seven years. She has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show,Dateline, and Dr. Phil, as well as on programs for the
cable televisionnetworkLifetime; she currently airs as one of the relationship experts on the reality television show “Married at First Sight.” She was the 2005 president of the Pacific Sociological Association, helped create the
dating web sitePerfectmatch.com, and is a sexuality adviser for
WebMD.
Schwartz is a past president of the
Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality and a charter member of the
International Academy of Sex Research. The
book jacket for her 2007 publication Prime: Adventures and Advice on Sex, Love, and the Sensual Years described her living "in Washington State, being single after a 23 year marriage, and having two children in college".
Research by Schwartz and others surveying lesbian sexuality has generated debates because the surveys stated that lesbian couples in long-term relationships have less sex than their heterosexual or gay male counterparts. The phenomenon was labeled "
lesbian bed death". One factor in this debate is the problem was how acts of "sex" was defined in surveys.[5]
Bibliography
Sex and the Yale Student, with Richard Feller, Elaine Fox, and Dr. Philip Sarrel Feller (The Committee on Human Sexuality, Yale University, 1970)
The Student Guide to Sex on Campus, by the Student Committee on Human Sexuality at Yale, edited by Richard Feller, Elaine Fox, and Pepper Schwartz (
Signet Books, 1971)
The Great Sex Weekend: A 48-hour Guide to Rekindling Sparks for Bold, Busy, or Bored Lovers, with Janet Lever (Perigee Trade, 2000)
ISBN0-399-52571-8,
ISBN978-0-399-52571-1
Snap Strategies for Couples: 45 fast fixes for everyday relationship pitfalls, with Lana Staheli ( Seal Press, 2015ISBN 9781-58005-562-8
50 Great Myths of Human Sexuality with Martha Kempner (Wiley Blackwell, 2015)
ISBN978-0-470-67433-8
Frommers Places for Passion: the 75 most romantic destinations in the world-and why every couple needs to get away, with Janet Lever ( AARP Media ,2015)
ISBN978-1-62887-150-0